Two semester classes in just seven weeks! VTU’s new mindless crash course to clear backlog

Two semester classes in just seven weeks! VTU’s new mindless crash course to clear backlog
Bengaluru: Is it possible to study two semester classes – spanning over a year – in just seven weeks? According to the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) it can be made possible to help students to clear backlog. Mind you, these students joined the engineering course 10 years ago.
Thousands of students who have joined between 2006 and 2010 are not still able to get promoted to V and VII semesters due to their backlog subjects. In view of this, the colleges will hold seven-week crash course from December 26. This crash course will be conducted by around 200 colleges – affiliated to VTU – following the university’s direction.
These students will be promoted to next semester (i.e. VI and VIII) if they clear backlog subjects in the re-examinations conducted by the VTU in December 2016 and January 2017. Interestingly, all the students have been asked to sign an undertaking stating that if they could not clear the backlogs in the re-examinations, internal marks allotted in the crash semester examination would be considered null and void.
The VTU’s move has come under severe criticism from various sections of the society. Even faculty of several top-notch engineering colleges in the city, feel that this crash course move will affect the educational standard. “How could anyone teach a semester syllabus in just seven weeks and hold internal assessment and semester examinations? Apparently, this scheme has been introduced to help the students who joined engineering course around 10 years ago. They would not be able to cope with the backlog subjects now,” said a senior officer in the education department.
Even the lecturers of technical institutions say that this move will affect their academic activities. “This is an additional burden on us. Already, engineering college lecturers are burdened with lot of works. Holding this crash course would be taxing,” said a principal of an engineering college.